VILLAGERS have used new laws to put on hold the sale of a closed pub so they can put a bid together. Bloxham Parish Council has won Cherwell District Council permission to delay any sale of The Red Lion, one of three pubs in the village. The pub
THIS 140-million-year-old ammonite fossil is among exhibits on show at Banbury Museum. Other items in the Natural Histories exhibition include a Megalosaurus jawbone and specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The Castle Quay shopping centre
OXFORD’S annual dance festival is preparing to waltz its way into the city once again – but with some new additions. Dancin’ Oxford runs from February 29 to March 10 and is putting on activities and performances for people of all skill levels.
MOTORISTS have been urged to take extra care while driving in colder temperatures. Oxfordshire County Council’s fire and rescue service road safety team wants motorists to ensure vehicle windows are completely demisted and that items such as an
ONE lane of the A34 Western Bypass is closed due a broken down car before the Peartree Interchange. Automatic updates will be posted to our Live Traffic Service
THE A420 is closed both ways between Shrivenham and Faringdon due to an overturned car. Updates will be automatically posted to our Live Traffic Service
ROADWORKS in Ferry Hinksey Road are causing “severe delays” to Oxford Bus Company services along Botley Road. The traffic is affecting its 4 services from Wood Farm and an extra bus is operating between the estate and the city centre. Scottish
ONE land on the M40 northbound is closed from junction 7 at Watlington to junction 6 at Thame because of a broken down vehicle. Traffic is still moving despite the closure.
A 10-YEAR-OLD girl has been awarded £5m in care compensation after she was left severely disabled following two hospital blunders. Louisa Ravouvou suffered severe injuries when hospital staff failed to respond to a bleed on the brain while she
HILL End has been part of the county for so long that it has almost become rooted into its beautiful landscape. Originally established as an outdoor school for ‘delicate’ and disadvantaged children in the 1930s, for subsequent generations of schoolchildren
AS the New Year chimed in, George Hedges re-set the counter to start the daunting task of raising £250,000 all over again. Retired chief constable Mr Hedges heads up charity Rosy (Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire’s Sick Youngsters) and every year
DRIVING a Nissan Leaf inspires plenty of emotions, but underlying all of them runs a little undercurrent of fear. The electrically-powered five-seater is a comfortable, capable and quiet runaround, but every second you are at the wheel you have
CREATIVE young people have displayed their work following a 12-week course. The project, run by East Oxford-based Fusion Arts, saw people between the ages of 14 and 25 create lanterns for Oxford’s light night at the Christmas festival. The
What is your Oxford United goal of the year? United are looking for your votes on their goal of the year. You can watch the contenders below.
DELAYS on Botley Road, Oxford are to set to continue through the weekend for investigations into an electrical fault. Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) says its engineers are still searching for a cable fault that led to a power cut for 70 homes
A teenager is attached to a mobile phone as if it were a life support system. Young people nowadays have tunnel vision to see only the screen in their hand and not ‘the big picture’, so I was surprised when two GCSE students at Cherwell School
OFFICERS searching for missing 61-year-old Jackie Gulliford are today searching Wytham Woods. Mrs Gulliford has been missing since she left her Eynsham home on Tuesday. Thames Valley Police said it was today searching the woods – where she
A WOMAN was raped by a stranger in a field in Harwell, police said today. Police say the woman was attacked in the field near North Drive between 9.30pm and 11pm on Monday, December 2, and reported it this month. The attacker has been described
FAMILIES of dementia sufferers are learning more about how it will change their loved ones at a free, specialist-support café. Langford View Care Centre in Bicester runs the memory café for relatives to get expert support and information. It
A MAN arrested over the death of a 27-year-old woman in Banbury has been released on bail. The 49-year-old from Banbury was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after police and paramedics found Anne-Marie Gale unresponsive when called to Dover
ONE lane of the Oxford Southern Bypass is closed due to emergency repairs and work on potholes. The road is shut westbound between the A4142 Eastern Bypass Road / A4074 (Heyford Hill roundabout) and the A4144 Abingdon Road (Kennington roundabout
TWO communities hoping to take control of development in their part of Oxford are preparing to take the next step. Residents in Summertown and St Margarets, and Wolvercote, are set to be formally designated as neighbourhood forums by Oxford City
AFTER ruling the roost at Christ Church for over a decade, the Very Rev Dr Christopher Lewis is preparing for retirement. And when he and wife Rhona leave the Oxford University college in September, to start a new life in Suffolk, he will take
Did you arrive at work looking like a drowned rat last week – if you managed to get there at all? Rain and floods look like being a permanent part of the Oxford calendar, so get prepared for the storms. Jaine Blackman takes a look at some practical
Lying in bed surrounded by water convinced me that we have the right to end our days in a dignified manner of our choosing I had a desperate glimpse into the future last week and realised what the world will be like once the sea levels rise. The
Orgasms: we’ve all (hopefully) had one. If you’re lucky, you’ve had quite a few. If you’re very lucky, you have one quite often. But last week in Seattle, one woman’s orgasm sent her to the stars… and then straight to Accident and Emergency. ‘Liz
Nel Staveley takes a trip to Flanders to look at World War One’s lesser known heroes: women On a late autumn evening, the watery sun low in a greying sky, Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is beautiful, bleak and completely overwhelming. It might
Jamie Oliver has teamed up with boyhood pal Jimmy Doherty for another TV show. The joint organiser of Oxfordshire’s Big Feastival tells Jaine Blackman about snake food, why he loved growing up in a village and the importance of Sunday lunch Say
Tomorrow is my daughters first birthday. It got me thinking about events this time last year. I was extremely pregnant and had been to the BBC in London. The return journey was nothing short of dramatic. Every single escalator in every tube station
Amid the rain, delayed journeys, floods and misery of last week I was treated to a wondrous sight. Something glorious that I had completely forgotten existed. If questioned about them I would have quite wrongly assumed that, like milkmen, they
Lisa Cuerden urges you to cut down on the daily consumption Last week I highlighted the need to cut down on sugar and in the last few days there has been extensive media coverage of its harmful effects. This week I was going to expand on the
Take a look at the lifestyle picks for this week Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty talk to Jaine Blackman about growing up together in a village and the importance of Sunday lunch Oxford graduate Frankie Goodway looks at the state of
Fancy a Consensual Sex on the Beach? Or a Bloody Mary Wollstonecraft? Those aren’t propositions or threats, just cocktails that Oxford University’s Women’s Campaign served up as part of their efforts to engage students in female rights. Frankie Goodway
Oxford entrepreneur and man about town Max Mason, 37, shares his views on love and life... I was hoping to steer clear of yet another flooding update. We’ve all become bored of the water and how it has dominated the news over the past weeks. However
Oxford entrepreneur and man about town Max Mason, 37, shares his views on love and life... January has well and truly got to me. My mother kidded me into believing that I wouldn’t like Christmas away, sheltered beneath a tropical palm on a balmy
Do me a favour: don’t fall into the trap of wanging on about the past being soooo much better than today. You know, those misty-eyed romps down memory lane when clean sheets flapped on the washing line, everyone left their front doors open and
Women’s clothes are so much more interesting than men’s, aren’t they? It’s no wonder you get men wanting to wear them. This was a priceless summary of the current state of men’s fashion from my mother, who last week caught a few moments of Secrets
Alison Boulton digs beneath the city's dreaming spires I’ve never been a high octane giver. I know poverty exists. I know it must be tackled. A start, for me, is found in Oxford’s charity shops. There are so many of them – over 30 at last count
Jason Ayres longs for the days when he was at the peak of physical fitness One of the topics of conversation that comes up frequently in the social circles I mix in (young mums at school/ nursery) is that of weight. Many bemoan their inability
In the UK, tearful whispers of “I have no idea” are uttered by fraught 16-year-olds at this time of year and why? A-Level choices are approaching, bearing what seems to be a programme for our futures. No pressure there then… Disguised on A4 sheets
Sheena Patterson of Oxford Garden Design has moved into a new house and garden We have just moved our business premises to a nature conservation area, and since then we have been on the lookout for tawny owls (Strix aluco) in our new garden. After
And so it would seem that in the year 2014, the world has finally caught on and it will not only be us dentists vilifying the evil white stuff. Hold your horses there Nigella, I’m talking about sugar. The average Britain consumes 150lb of sugar
Oxford single mother Anne-Marie Cockburn, whose beloved only daughter Martha died six months ago, talks about publishing her diary of bereavement Losing your only child is an agony most parents can’t even bear to contemplate. But, last July, Anne-Marie
IT was one of those uninvited phone calls, a smooth-talking salesman promising to save me 40 per cent or more in heating costs. I told him I had no intention of committing myself to heavy expenses for the foreseeable future, well at least for the
THE measures taken by the Coalition Government (Oxford Mail, January 11) to help Oxford tackle its increasing flooding problems are completely inadequate. David Cameron should immediately allocate funding for the ‘conveyance channel’, west of the
RE: OSBAG/OCC consultation for changes to school transport. As a campaigner from Staffordshire who faced similar issues in our county to those being tackled by OSBAG, I can only give credit to the tireless efforts of the parents co-ordinating the
BICESTER play and teach pool will reopen on Saturday after being closed for repairs for more than a year. The children’s pool at Bicester Leisure Centre will open at 11am following major repair work to the tune of £120,000, which was funded by
A NURSERY which was criticised by Ofsted inspectors six months ago is expected to undergo another full inspection soon. Blackbird Leys Nursery in Cuddesdon Way had its third monitoring visit in July after serious failings were found at the Co-operative
THERE is something magical about The Oscars. No disrespect to the Golden Globes, or our own Baftas, but nothing can top that little gold statuette. Most of us can only dream of walking that red carpet and hearing our name read aloud as a nominee
FIRST the floods, then the gridlock. Who in their right mind would commute into Oxford if they could possibly avoid it? Our beautiful, historic city is beset by the twin curses of flooding and traffic, both of which bring the place to a standstill
I READ your report that the county council is considering asking the public for donations to keep services going. May I suggest that they declare a unilateral declaration of independence and make Oxfordshire a nation within the Commonwealth?
MY husband came a cropper on his pushbike on a very slippery surface under Oxford station bridge last Thursday, at around 1pm. He suffered a very nasty cut to his head. His cycle helmet took the brunt of it, otherwise it could have been even worse
THERE have been many letters in the Oxford Mail about the proposed Botley development. Most of them have been broadly against the overall size of the proposals and some people have asked why a large block of student accommodation is included at
IN all my very long life, I have not known a better councillor or representative than Maurice Billington. Until voted out from the Cherwell Avenue area to another in Kidlington, he not only turned out recently for the entire evening in appalling
I AM writing this letter with the hope that the irresponsible individuals concerned may read it and feel ashamed. Recently, in the Marston area, I have seen three different people riding their bicycles while exercising their dogs, which are having
DAVE Kitson says he would welcome a couple of new signings in the January transfer window if Oxford United have the scope to make a move. The former Premier League striker believes the squad will be put under the strain of a congested fixture list
THERE have been times this season when Oxford United’s team has virtually picked itself, but Mickey Lewis is expecting the selection meeting for tomorrow’s game to be the toughest of the season. The U’s make the short trip down the M40 to Wycombe
A DECADE on from his last run of games in midfield, Johnny Mullins has revelled in reprising an old role for Oxford United. One of manager Chris Wilder’s headaches this season has been the form of his three senior centre backs. Michael Raynes
LONDON Welsh will not lose sight of the bigger picture when they battle to reach the British & Irish Cup quarter-finals tomorrow. That is the message from assistant coach Ollie Smith as Welsh prepare to take on London Scottish at Richmond Athletic
THE chance to end Oxford United’s unbeaten away run has given Wycombe Wanderers added incentive for tomorrow’s clash at Adams Park. Chris Wilder’s men are the only professional side in the country yet to taste a league defeat this season, winning
A GOVERNMENT minister has said the people of Oxford are owed an apology for the handling of the controversial Castle Mill buildings. During a visit to the city yesterday, Planning Minister Nick Boles said both Oxford City Council and the university
ANDY Whing is still on course for a return to full training in February despite needing another groin operation earlier this month. The midfielder has been on the sidelines since tearing a groin in the 3-1 win at Mansfield Town in November.
A man in his 50s who died after a fall at the John Radcliffe Hospital was an Oxfordshire resident, police said yesterday. But Thames Valley Police did not reveal further details about the man who died at the Headington hospital’s West Wing on Wednesday
BRITPOP could make a comeback if Blur bass guitarist Alex James gets his way – he has applied to trademark a drink of the same name. The musician, who quit music to become a cheesemaker at his home near Kingham before rejoining the band, has applied
A 49-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter yesterday after the death of a 27-year-old woman in Banbury. Police were called to the Dover Avenue property at just before 5pm on Wednesday. The ambulance service found the woman,
A woman who cut her face and pretended she was the victim of two assaults to get her estranged husband’s attention has avoided jail. Michelle Miller, 32, of Brandon Close, Kidlington, appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced for
Police said yesterday they would not reveal more details of an accident in Oxford which left a cyclist in hospital. Police sealed off Kennington Road under the Southern Bypass in Oxford on Wednesday night following a serious accident involving
A 29-year-old man is due in court today charged with sexually assaulting a young woman on her doorstep. Ali Noor, of James Street, was charged with sexual assault after the incident in East Oxford in the early hours of Wednesday. Noor was remanded
ELECTRICAL works in Ferry Hinksey Road, Oxford, are expected to last for the rest of the day. Despite saying it was hoped they would be finished this morning Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has now said workers still haven't found the fault.
SIXTEEN members of school staff in Oxfordshire were charged by police for having sexual relationships with students, new data shows. The figures, released through a Freedom of Information request, show that between 2008 and 2013, 31 members of
THE family of missing grandmother Jackie Gulliford has appealed for any clues that might help bring her home. The 61-year-old had last night not been seen since she left her Eynsham home on Tuesday morning. And her son James Gulliford yesterday
IT has only been open for a few days after being closed because of flooding. But yesterday, traffic on Botley Road, Oxford, was backed up for miles. Electrical works at the junction with Ferry Hinksey Road caused travel mayhem for drivers and
3:10pm You can listen to the full audio interview with planning minister Nick Boles condemning Oxford City Council and Oxford University over the Castle Mill buildings 3:07pm
Oxfordshire Over 40s completed a clean sweep of six matches to win the Masters Challenge Division 1B title in Bournemouth. The Oxon team of skipper Paul Casey, Dave Buckingham, Martin Graham, Simon Gaines, Nicola Patrick,Jackie Yeulet, Laura Hicks
Saturday FOOTBALL SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Wycombe Wands v Oxford Utd. SKRILL NORTH Oxford City v Altrincham. CALOR LEAGUE Premier Div: Poole Tn v Banbury Utd. Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn v Stratford Tn, Godalming v
A WHEATLEY man has been nominated for an Oscar for his work on blockbuster Gravity. Niv Adiri, who lives with his wife Abbie, 37, and sons Leo, three, and Eden, five, in Howe Close, is among a team from Studio 24 based at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire
Oxford City boss Mike Ford is hoping that new Spanish coach Enrique Guillen can help them pass their way out of the lower reaches of the Skrill North table. Ford said Guillen, who manages the club’s Futsal side, would supplement his backroom staff
CHINNOR'S player-coach Matt Goode is to take a lower key role on the field, following a series of discussions at the club. Goode met with the club committee, who reiterated their support for the coaching staff and the side. The message that
A REVIEW has been launched into the future of the site next to Oxford’s historic castle mound after plans to build a £35m Science Discovery and Innovation Centre there were scrapped. Science Oxford has announced it has scrapped its plans to build
Noel Fehily, stable jockey to Chipping Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon, was signed off for the day at Market Rasen yesterday after he suffered a wrist injury in the opener. Fehily fell from his boss’s Ready Token in the novices' hurdle, but was
A man found dead at the Pegasus Theatre was 45 and lived in the city, Thames Valley Police revealed yesterday. Police and paramedics were called to the Magdalen Road venue shortly after 2pm on Wednesday and the theatre was closed off to the public
A PCSO has been treated in hospital after a driver hit his with his car in Headington. The PCSO was attacked when he approached a man who appeared to be tampering with number plates on a black VW Golf in Wharton Road. The man – who police say
A motorist has been found guilty of causing the death of a prison worker by careless driving. Daniel Fallaw, of Peregrine Way, Bicester, went on trial at Oxford Crown Court after his silver Ford Escort collided with 48-year-old cyclist David Parris
WHEN nurse Faith Adesuwa Idubor is not caring for patients she enjoys praising the lord with the gospel choir at Oxford’s Christian Life Centre. Now the mum-of-three, who works on the neural rehabilitation ward at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
TEN independent shops and cafes in West Oxfordshire will be given business support in a new scheme. West Oxfordshire District Council is launching the pilot project to give small retailers in town centres the chance to get expert guidance. It includes
A woman who died after being found at a house in Dover Avenue, Banbury has been named as 27-year-old Anne-Marie Gale. Thames Valley Police said the post-mortem had been carried out yesterday but that the cause of death was found to be inconclusive
OXFORD Sports racked up an 8-0 home win over Wantage to move ten points clear of their nearest rivals in Ladies’ Division 1 of the Thames Valley Winter League. Sports’ remaining fixtures see them having to play the four teams below them in the
THE Justice Secretary will be quizzed today on steps taken to update a child anonymity order to incorporate social and electronic media. East Oxford MP Andrew Smith, right, submitted the parliamentary question after being contacted by the Oxford
RESIDENTS across Oxfordshire are still counting the cost of damage caused by floods to their homes. But some of them said money spent protecting their homes has helped limit the impact. Adrian Porter, 42, who lives in Manor Road, South Hinksey
Banbury trainer Alex Hales was delighted to register a first win for his landlord, David Allen, when Ultimatum Du Roy scored under Tony McCoy at Market Rasen yesterday. The 18-times champion jockey brought the six-year-old home by a cosy length
Emotions will be running high at Ascot tomorrow if Somersby can land the Sodexo Clarence House Chase – a day after Terry Biddlecombe’s funeral. The ten-year-old was trained by Biddlecombe’s widow, Henrietta Knight, at West Lockinge, near Wantage
Wantage Town striker Jimmy Deabill could return to the starting line-up when they travel to Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division leaders Ardley United tomorrow. The former Oxford City hitman completed his recovery from a three-month lay-off
Didcot Town are set to give a debut to keeper James Foster when they take on Stratford Town in Calor League Division 1 South & West tomorrow. With first-choice keeper Alex Williams at a wedding and back-up Keiran Beesley suspended, Didcot joint
Oxford City rider Ed Gronbech clinched his second Wessex Cyclocross League title in successive years in commanding style. Gronbech destroyed his rivals, winning by more than two minutes in Southampton to capture the Under 16 crown – 12 months after
RESEARCHERS at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital have made a breakthrough in tackling a cause of progressive blindness. Six patients have seen improvements in their vision after taking part in the first clinical trial of a gene therapy for a condition
THE lover of a Pc accused of using police files to cash in on personal injury claims has denied forcing her to do it. Pc Sugra Hanif, of Banbury, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court charged with obtaining and disclosing personal data from Thames
DEVELOPERS have said Oxford City Council’s record on affordable housing is “lamentable”. That was the view of Cantay Estates Limited during the closing statements of the public inquiry into plans for new homes at the former Lord Nuffield Club in
AN UNANNOUNCED inspection at a failing care unit for people with learning disabilities has found it has made improvements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) launched the investigation after a damning inspection of Headington’s Slade House in September
IT will be cut-throat competition when a barber aims to show people he can offer them Britain’s best shave. Gareth Clark, from Wallingford, will go head-to-head against 14 other hopefuls at the South-East regional heat later this month. The
POLICE have explained why they have been unable to issue fines to drivers ignoring a left turn ban on part of Oxford’s ring road – but now can. A ban on traffic taking a rat-run from the A40 through the Cutteslowe estate in North Oxford has not
A FLAGSHIP £1 charity store which raises money for cancer research in Oxford’s Botley Road has been so successful the idea could be rolled out nationwide. The Cancer Research UK shop, which is based on the site of the former MFI and Halfords stores
OXFORD City Hoops bid to bounce back from a 113-87 home defeat by Canary Wharf London Lituanica in National League Division 3 when they take on Cardiff Met Archers at UWIC University in Cardiff tomorrow (1pm).
Abu Dhabi Championship OXFORDSHIRE’S Eddie Pepperell shot a two-under-par opening round of 70 to end the day tied for 19th. The Frilford Heath golfer was three shots off the lead and level with Major winners Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy.
